America is not serious about competing at an international level in Judo; America is only interested in proving that we, like, totally care about doing things the Japanese way. France fights the French way and does well, Russia fights the Russian way and does well, and the US keeps muddling along longing for the day that every club was run by an ethnic Japanese.

Now darkness comes; you don't know if the whales are coming. - Royce Gracie

America is not serious about competing at an international level in Judo; America is only interested in proving that we, like, totally care about doing things the Japanese way. France fights the French way and does well, Russia fights the Russian way and does well, and the US keeps muddling along longing for the day that every club was run by an ethnic Japanese.

Well, no, not really. Your idea has been around for a while. I can't remember the first time I heard it, but it was wrong then and it's wrong now. Maybe it was on rec.ma or Judolist, maybe the old Judo Forum too when it was at the rain.org IP.

Judoka_UK has the basic correct on this one. Good Judo is good Judo, good training practices are good training practices, no Japanese or whatever way about it.

There was a time when top placing guys from the AJJC would show up at the AAU nationals.

I can't imagine why they would do that, unless they had moved to the US. One of my teachers, Michinori Ishibashi competed in the open division (he placed first in AJA weight classified event), but he had moved to the US. Same for Ichi Otaka, from Northglenn CO Judo club. Both won first place. Ichi was nowhere near a placer at any AJC. Plus, he was a small guy.

Top athletes did used to show up at the US Open back in the day. Then Japan started sending their B and C teams (maybe D) and still did very well.

One of my coaches got gold in his division this year, another a bronze. They mentioned something via Facebook about Ishii winning a gold with a crazy uchi-mata, but I figured it had to be some other guy with the same name...